shall refer to more
appropriately in a later chapter, as they were chiefly connected with the
Pra del Tor. We may, however, state here that some of the most decisive
triumphs against the enemy were obtained by means of a troop of one hundred
picked marksmen, called "the flying company," because their services were
available in all places according to the varying emergencies of their
situation. A treaty of peace so nearly approximating to justice as to be
denounced by the pope as "a pernicious example," and by a "liberal" Roman
Catholic historian[D] as "a blameable weakness," was concluded at Cavour on
the 5th of June, 1561, and honourably fulfilled by Philibert Emmanuel to
the end of his days, although the Vaudois were still to bear the cross of
their Master. The first hardship coming upon them was that of hunger,
thirst, and homelessness. Their joy at the departure of the men of war was
sadly diminished by the sight of their ruined homes and devastated
vineyards and fields. Alas! for them no fig tree could bloom, no vine yield
its fruit. The flock had been cut off from the fold, and the herd driven
from the stall. The fields could yield no meat, and the time for sowing was
past. To add to those disasters, their poor brethren, flying from Calabria
naked and destitute, were seeking shelter and nourishment at their hands.
Mercifully, however, sympathizing hearts in Germany and Switzerland, nobly
led by the Elector Palatine, the Duke of Wurtemburg, the Marquis of Baden,
the energy of Calvin, and seconded by the churches of Strasbourg and
Provence, supplied their great distress.

Persecution was renewed by indirect means. Castrocaro, forgetful of the
kindness showed him during the late war, when he was taken prisoner by the
Vaudois while fighting against them, undertook the task of harassing the
valleys. He occupied the castle at La Torre. He ill-treated many of the
pastors, especially Gilles. He built the fort at Miraboc, tried to prevent
the meetings of the synods, &c. Large numbers had again to choose between
the idolatrous mass or the dungeon unless they betook themselves to
flight.

It was at this time that the Elector Palatine wrote a remonstrance which
deserves to be perpetuated out of regard both to its own merits and those
of the noble writer. Addressing the Duke of Savoy, he said, "Let your
highness know that there is a God in heaven ... from whom nothing is hid.
Let your highness take care not voluntarily to make